Important concepts

A wiki is a collaborative workspace. This means any member can make a page and edit it. They can also edit anyone else's page. Everyone works together to make a useful site.
In this project you will be responsible for two things. Firstly, creating your own page or pages. Secondly, contributing to the work of others.
The discussion page allows you to leave comments for the page author and the community without changing the actual page being discussed. Only members can edit or add to the discussion page.
Wiki pages do not always have to be perfect or finished. Start with a draft. You can edit it later. Other people can help you too.
Every change is noted in the history page, together with the name of the person making the change.
If you decide to be silly, everyone will know you are being silly. You can be removed from the community.

Editing

Editing is reasonably easy to do. You do need to be signed in.
Click on the 'Edit This Page' button at the top of the page. The page is now in edit mode and you will see a basic toolbar near the top.
On a new page, (not this one!) experiment with each tool.
Of particular interest are the link tools (globe with chain). You can make a link to another page in the ThebAllen wiki, another wikispaces wiki, or another page on the web. See 'How to put links in your page' for more information.

The discussion page allows you to leave comments for the page author and the community without changing the actual page being discussed.
Only members can edit or add to the discussion page.

Every change made is noted. You can see who made the change, and when they made it. This can be found in the 'history' page (see tab above). We can see who is doing the work!

a very useful tool. Select this for any page you are particularly interested in, for example, your own page and your teachers. Any time there is a change you will be sent an email. This means you can check

A useful feature of wikis is that they can be searched. Type anything you are looking for in the search box in the left hand pane.

For advice/help using the theballen wiki at Thebarton see Louis or Graham or email. You may also be able to get advice from Josh or Nick.
For advice/help using the theballen wiki at Allendale East see ...
To familiarize yourself with what wikis can and can't do you might start by exploring this relatively simple one. Then look at Wikipedia, one of the most significant ones on the net.